Wants answers from Clean Line
www.saukvalley.com October 23, 2012
Rock Island Clean Line claims this power line from Iowa to Illinois will save Illinois residents money, but they lack specifics. Hans Detweiler speaks in vague terms intentionally and refuses to answer Illinois residents’ specific questions. As an Illinois resident and a stakeholder in this project, I would appreciate some answers from Hans.
How much will this electricity cost from RICL? An economic study recommended by RICL’s Facebook page forecasts wind energy will be competitive at $60-$70 per megawatt hour. Does RICL anticipate a price increase of more than 100 percent?
If RICL will forecast a price of electricity from this power line, is that price before or after the $22/MWh Production Tax Credit (PTC) given by the government to wind energy companies? Is this project viable if the government does not renew the PTC?
Will nuclear power from the proposed new MidAmerica nuclear plant be used to “augment” the wind energy? If Exelon is exporting electricity from northern Illinois to the east, why is this power needed in Illinois?
Questions like these and many more are not being answered by RICL. This is forcing us to dig deeper and ask more questions about this company. It’s beginning to look like RICL is the next Enron, a shell company owned by a shell company owned by a company with no physical assets.
Those hardball tactics by Rock Island Clean Line toward the landowners and stakeholders are creating large amounts of animosity and poor cooperation, when very good and open dialog is needed from the company.
Scott Thorsen
Prairie Center
Note to readers – Scott Thorsen is a farmer southeast of Mendota along U.S. Route 52.
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/10/23/wants-answers-from-clean-line/